Games
by Locked Heart Ami
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Why does Fuujin talk like that? How did she get her eyepatch? And exactly why is she so attatched to Seifer, anyway?
1. Chapter 1

I met Seifer three years ago

I met Seifer three years ago.

We didn't take an instant liking to each other. He was introverted and intense, shelling out only insults when he came out of his shell. I was loud, a little obnoxious, with a fast mouth and a quick eye (two, then). Raijin, a mutual friend, introduced us in the library. He had the very best of intentions, of course. He was probably thinking, _Well, Fuu and Seif are in a bunch of classes together, ya know? So they should probably get to know each other_. It worked in theory, but the notion ended up leaving a great deal to be desired when applied to real life.

"So who's this person you want me to meet, hmm?" I asked Raijin, leafing through a copy of Timber Maniacs.

"He's in a bunch of your classes, ya know?

I raised my eyebrows. "I know almost everybody in our year."

"Well, you don't know him." Raijin shifted his weight. "It's… I mean, he's…."

"I'm Seifer Almasy," a quiet, silky voice behind me offered.

I spun. It took me a moment to place his face – slick sun-bleached hair, sharp blue eyes, gunblade in a makeshift holster strapped to his back. It was the gunblade that gave me a clue. "Oh… Seifer. I know you." I laughed. "The hermit from Trepe's homeroom. Ventured out of the cave for the day?"

Raijin winced as Seifer bristled. "And I know you, Fuujin. Xu's your homeroom teacher. And…" he ran his eyes down my body. "I'm pretty sure you're a girl, but it's hard to tell."

I could feel my cheeks getting hot. No, I wasn't built like Quistis Trepe and I didn't dress like her either, and I didn't want to. It wasn't the verbal body-slam that bothered me, anyway; it was being caught off of my guard. "Why, you – "

"Yes, me," agreed Seifer, and he turned back to Raijin. "Well, Raijin, this has been an… entertaining encounter. But I'm afraid I'm required elsewhere."

"Okay," Raijin said quickly, before I could get anything out.

"Well, not so much required elsewhere," Seifer said thoughtfully, "As desperately failing to enjoy myself here. That's all right. I hear the cafeteria's got some hot dogs." With that, he turned and ambled off carelessly; I was left blushing and unsteady.

"Man, Fuujin," Raijin said. He looked embarrassed. "You probably shouldn't have cut into him like that, ya know? He's like – sensitive."

"HE'S sensitive?" I yelped, kicking Raijin in the shins. My tone was joking but the kick was real. "All I did was make a little joke and he called me flat!" I stuck out my chest at Raijin. "Did that have ANY validity WHATSOEVER?!"

"Fuujin," Raijin said awkwardly, averting his eyes as he turned red, "Please stop shoving your boobs at me. People are … y'know… staring."

I sighed and complied. "I don't even care," I mumbled. "He's a dick. Still, this has been an experience which definitely warrants payback."

Raijin raised his eyebrows. "Payback?"

"You don't have to come," I said cheerfully, and ran down the stone hallways towards the cafeteria.


	2. Chapter 2

The lunch lady blinked

The lunch lady blinked. "ALL the hot dogs, Fuujin? Are you sure?" She looked me up and down. "Don't want to ruin that girlish figure."

"Sure! I'm sure. All the hot dogs," I insisted, panting and resting my hands on my knees. "They're not quite for me."

"All right," said the lunch lady dubiously. "If you insist. That'll be three hundred gil." I eagerly handed the money over and, in return, received two loaded trays of hot dogs.

_Now what_? I asked myself, feeling a little deflated by my success. _I have the hot dogs and Seifer doesn't. But what am I supposed to do with them?_ And then, suddenly, I had an IDEA. Zell Dincht was standing at the lunch counter. "Hey, Zell. What's up?"

He looked like a popped balloon when he realized what I was carrying. "Hey, Fuujin. You lucked out."

I smiled at him. "You know how you helped me with my homework last semester? Thought I'd pay you back. Could you come here for a second?" Five minutes later, I was still with Zell, but had progressed to watching him with total shock. "Wow. Two trays of hot dogs. I wouldn't have believed it."

Zell smiled at me, his eyes glazed over with bliss. "Fuujin," he said, "You have helped me to fulfill a lifelong dream."

"I'm very proud," I said with slightly disturbed bemusement. "And you better hurry, Zell. Don't you have Trepe at one-fifty? You don't want the Trepies after you."

"Oh, right," Zell agreed. He looked as though he thought ending such a wonderful experience would be a genuine tragedy.

"Seriously, get going," I laughed, pushing him to the door. His walk incorporated an unusual bounce as he strode out the cafeteria doors. Pleased with the success of my enchantingly devious plan, I proudly spun on my heel and began to walk away. Someone clamped an iron hand down on my shoulder. I jumped and turned – only to find myself facing down the object of my carefully contrived prank.

"Well, Fuujin," Seifer said, not moving his hand. "That was quite the little drama."

I grinned, shaking his hand off my shoulder. "Why, thank you. You saw it?"

"I was sitting with the Trepies," Seifer replied, "Waiting for the line to get shorter."

I smiled. God, I loved being smart. "Better luck next time, Seifer. You just never know about the hot dogs."

"Don't wish me luck," Seifer warned me. He was smiling. That wasn't right. "I don't need it. I'm sure things will turn out VERY well for me next time. After all, every good show needs an encore."


	3. Chapter 3

Three days later, my alarm didn't go off in the morning

Three days later, my alarm didn't go off in the morning. Tired, grumpy and groggy, I hauled myself out of bed and stripped off my blue flannel pajamas to step into the shower. The hot water woke me up as I washed my silver hair, getting shampoo in my eyes in the process. Then I dried off, tugged on my uniform, grabbed the shoulder bag which contained my homework, and set off for class.

Xu was already taking roll call when I arrived. "Kazeno, Fuujin," she said loudly, looking around.

"Present!" I cried, running into the classroom.

"Well, Fuujin," Xu said acerbically as she wrote something beside my name, "Are you trying to live dangerously? I'm not going to tolerate lateness."

"I'm not late," I insisted. "I was here to proclaim myself present, wasn't I?"

"Do you have an explanation for your near-tardy experience?"

"One night stand?"

Xu sighed. "Sit down, Fuujin." I sat. "Hopefully a wild night has not detracted from your ability to do homework. Please answer questions one and two on the board."

I nodded sheepishly, bending over and pulling my papers from my shoulder pack. As I began to stand, however, I frowned. Something was different about the sheets of paper in my hand. They were the wrong size, the wrong weight. I glanced at the writing as Xu tapped her heeled foot impatiently.

_Encore. – S. A._

I could have howled in frustration. Instead, I bit my lip and said quietly to Xu, "I'm sorry, instructor, I don't have those questions." Embarrassed, I tried to keep my voice quiet, but it was pointless. I was in a full classroom of silent students eager to watch me get a tongue-lashing. I could feel myself beginning to blush.

"I see," Xu said, and she made another little note on her clipboard. I sighed. I hated to admit it, but Seifer was good. Still. This was far from over.

I didn't see Almasy again until I was walking down the hall to sixth period. By then, I had plenty of time to stop being embarrassed, and start being mad. As before, he saw me first, catching me with that same familiar vice-grip to the shoulder. "Hey, Fuujin. How are your classes going today?"

I glared at him, shaking his hand off again while I set my hands on my hips. "What did you do with my homework?"

"I gave it to Zell to eat," he replied without blinking.

"Seifer, that's not funny," I pleaded, hating both him and myself. "I'm pretty sure Xu's gonna give me a demerit."

Seifer raised his eyebrows. "What a shame. I almost feel sorry for you." He stopped, and considered, then added, "Actually, no. I really don't."

"You're asking for it, Almasy," I snapped, narrowing my eyes as I began to back away. "This means war."

And war did indeed ensue. I poured ink on Seifer's jacket and he switched my uniform with Squall Leonhart's. I left a rotten egg under his mattress and he wrote me a fake notice of expulsion. I strung up his underwear from the clocktower, and he signed me up for the garden festival volunteer committee, which, as far as I am concerned, is just outside the bounds of all fair play. Raijin looked on as an amused observer as, over the course of three weeks, Seifer and I each dreamed up and enacted countless ways of making the other's life a living hell.

It was my "turn", and I had just come back from pouring red dye in his gunblade polish. I wasn't really sure it would work, but the idea was to give the weapon an attractive rosy tint. Seifer was sure to look pretty in pink. Any risk was worth that mental imagery.

When I got to my room, I stepped back in surprise. Seifer himself was sitting on my bed, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world, though he did shoot a betraying glance at my furtive approach. "Ah, Fuujin. Back from doing the dirty deed?"

"I'm not going to tell you what I did," I said, crossing my arms.

"I'm not going to ask," Seifer replied. "No, I came here with a business proposal."

I sat down on the bed beside him. It was a little awkward, but I wasn't going to be squeezed out of my own room. "And what might that be?"

He frowned. "I don't think this silly prank business is a good idea. Neither of us are children and it's affecting both our reputations."

"Agreed."

"So. I have a proposal that will finish our little games."

"You're not going to like, kill me and hide the body?"

"Tempting, but no. One of these days – tonight, hopefully – I'll meet you in the training center. There, we'll see who lasts the longest in real combat. The class clown, or the hermit."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch," Seifer promised, standing up. "Whoever wins, wins, and that'll be the end of it."

I considered. Well, I pretended to. Really, I had already come to my decision. "You're on, Almasy."


	4. Chapter 4

I met Seifer that night, in the Training Center's make-out corner

I met Seifer that night, in the Training Center's make-out corner. "Don't turn chickenshit on me," he grinned when I approached, shuriken in hand.

"I won't if you don't," I snorted. "Should I be worried?"

Seifer grinned. "Of course not."

With no further exchange of words, we advanced deeper into the unprotected sections of the Training Center – ostensibly separate, but both with a suspicious eye upon the other. I was the first to be launched into battle – not against the T-Rexaur, to my immense relief. I could feel Seifer's beady little eyes on me as I readied myself for combat, pulling Kamikaze out and sinking into a battle stance. "Watch and learn, hermit," I called as I attacked… well, whatever the hell I was fighting. Really, the Training Center is just full of genetic rejects with no proper species names. Anyway, I was surprised when my shuriken didn't seem to have much effect – it flew into the monster's hide and returned to me smoothly, but it just didn't seem to cause any damage.

"If that's how an expert fights, Fuujin," Seifer called smugly, "I'd just as soon do it my way." I narrowed my eyes, pretending to concentrate on the battle. Kamikaze wasn't having much effect, so I relied on Demi I had drawn a couple days ago.

The magic couldn't have worked more perfectly. I knocked the creature onto its side, and seeing its exposed throat, threw Kamikaze again. This time, the flying blade glanced down across the monster's jugular, and the ugly little thing thrashed around in a pool of blood before it finally died. I waited until it stopped moving, then yelled at Seifer, "So! Learn something?!"

The look on Seifer's face as I spoke turned not into embarrassment or resentment, but an expression of utter horror. "Fuujin, look out!" He called desperately, but his warning came too late.

Something hit me hard in the eye. Screaming pain ratcheted from my lower lid to my temple.

I considered myself brave and strong, but I couldn't deal with this, and, as my vision swam to black and my legs gave out underneath me, I felt nothing but relief.


	5. Chapter 5

I met Seifer three years ago

"Fuujin? Fuujin. Can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes slowly. Well, I only actually succeeded in opening one of them. The other was too swollen and bloody to move at all. I was in Doctor Kadowaki's medical ward, lying in my underclothes under a thin sheet.

"How do you feel?" Doctor Kadowaki asked me briskly.

I found my voice with difficulty – far more than I would have expected – and no small amount of pain. "OK."

She watched me intently, frowning. "Say your name for me, dear."

"FUUJIN KAZENO," I replied, much more loudly than I intended to.

Doctor Kadowaki nodded and sighed, making a note on her clipboard. "What's the last thing you remember?"

My throat hurt when I talked, so I abbreviated my sentences, trusting Doctor Kadowaki to know what I meant. "SEIFER, FIGHT. CUT EYE." That reminded me. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

Doctor Kadowaki winced. "I'm afraid the news isn't at all good," she said softly. I watched her. "That demon in the training center wasn't quite as dead-and-gone as you apparently thought, Fuujin," she replied. "He sent the same spell you used right back at you."

"IN EYE," I blurted out. _Ow, ow, ow._

"Twice," Doctor Kadowaki corrected me. "In your eye, yes, but also in your neck. You're lucky Seifer was there. He finished the thing off with his gunblade and carried you all the way back here. You've been out for more than a day."

I swallowed painfully. "OK?"

"Who? You or Seifer?'

Yeah, right. "ME!"

Doctor Kadowaki closed here eyes and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Fuujin. You're young, and some of your wounds will heal, but much of the damage is irreversible." She looked me in the eye. "The attack that nearly slit your throat nearly severed your vocal cords. I did what I could, but you'll have lost some control of your voice. That's why you're finding it difficult to speak quietly, and why it hurts to speak."

I tried to keep the tears from my eyes.

Eye.

"GET BETTER?"

"The pain you experience will lessen in time, but I doubt it will go away completely. And it will always hurt if you attempt to speak quietly. In fact, you'll probably prefer to speak as little as possible from now on."

I felt cold, clutched the thin hospital sheet around me. "WHAT ELSE?"

"You lost all the sight in your left eye," Doctor Kadowaki replied. "There's nearly irreparable muscular damage. Again, I'm very sorry. This really shouldn't have happened here. Headmaster Cid will probably want to come see you himself." She turned to the window. "You may wish to opt for an eyepatch. I know you're a girl who cares for her looks, and I doubt your wounds will heal attractively."

I nodded a little.

"Smart girl. I'll order you one from our medical supplier. You're taking this all very well, Fuujin. You're a very strong young woman." Doctor Kadowaki looked me over once more. "You'll probably get a better rest in your dorm, dear. Just comb your hair down over your eye until I get you that patch. Unless – " The doctor stopped speaking when the door was thrown open, with such vigor that the little nurse's room shook. I didn't even jump. What did I have to be afraid of any more?

It was Raijin, shoulders heaving, dark-skinned face salt-stained with tears. "Is Fuujin awake yet?"

"HI," I said, almost amused – and, considering everything that had happened, that was saying a lot.

Raijin gasped and began to sob again. "I've been waiting out here for, like, forever, ya know?!" He heaved himself to my side, grabbing my hand protectively. "Are you going to die?" He demanded tremulously.

"She's not going to die," Doctor Kadowaki interrupted, trying to hide her own amusement. "She'll be all right." She hustled Raijin out again, over his protestations, then closed the door. "Fuujin," she said, turning back to me, "I'll write you a pass to excuse you from your classes. Just rest and get your bearings, okay?"

"FINE," I agreed, tugging on my usual uniform, which was folded and had been laundered. "NOW?"

"Yes, go ahead," said Doctor Kadowaki, already leafing through her filing cabinet to put my portfolio away. "I'll check up on you tomorrow."

I met Raijin on the way to my dorm room. "Fuu!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around me. "I seriously thought you were gonna die. I'm just – so glad you're okay, ya know?"

"FINE," I said, rolling my eyes and giving him a little kick.

"Seifer told me everything," Raijin explained, his eyes shining. "How bad-ass you were when you fought that thing – even when Kamikaze wasn't working – "

"STOP," I ordered, laughing, but feeling warm inside.

"Here's your dorm," Raijin said. "I'd go with you, but the other girls might not like it, ya know?"

"I KNOW." I waved goodbye to Raijin and stepped into my dorm. In a half-second, every girl I knew had surrounded me.

"Fuu!"

"Where were you?"

"What happened with Seifer?"

"Are you OK? Did you fight the 'saur?!"

"How bad did you get hurt?"

I didn't feel like talking. Forgive me. In answer to all their questions I pushed my hair away from my eye, giving everyone a good look at my wound. There was a collectively sharp drawing-in of breath. My so-called friends offered their condolences and then hastily excused themselves.

I sat on my bed, holding my head in my hands. I was happy when they were gone.


End file.
